Burke was very candid about what he didn't like from certain player! Making reference to the fact that several of the players were too comfortable and not putting in the same effort they did earlier in the year (or last year) - how some were more worried about how many girls liked them - and that the roster could look very differently with a trade deadline approaching.

If someone has audio of that interview, please post it. It really speaks to the leadership and accountability on Burkes part. He is definitely not afraid to call them out!

“Inconsistent period to period, shift to shift and line to line,” Niagara head coach Billy Burke said when asked for his impressions of the game.

“Anytime you are down 2-0 on the first two shots that’s tough,” he said. “We kind of challenged an older defence pair (William Lochead, Zach Shankar) to do a job on their top line and they get burned on the first goal on the first shift so that kind of sets the tone.”

Burke said. “It’s mentally rattling when you see the arm go up six times in a row."

Carbonara is also known to play on the edge and be a huge pain in the backside to play against. The classic kind of player who is loved by the home fans and hated pretty much everywhere else. “He’s got some psycho in him for sure, that’s part of the reason we got him,” Burke smiled. “He plays it hard, he plays smash mouth. He’s a dynamic we did not have in our system.”

Carbonara also welcomes the leadership role he will no doubt be asked to fill. “Definitely I’m here to help out with that. I’ve been around the block and I know what it takes to be a winning team in this league and be successful. I’m just going to bring all that here and hopefully it goes well.”

The 19-year-old netminder is playing perhaps as well as he ever has at the Ontario Hockey League level and is a big reason the IceDogs have been able to make a legitimate run at first place in the Central Division.

“He’s looking like he’s the best goalie in the league. We’re biased but I think anyone would say he’s in the top three for sure,” IceDogs coach Billy Burke said.